Home-Efficiency Renovations That Conserve Energy and Save You Money

Home renovations and remodeling increase the value of your property now and in the future. With any sort of remodeling, you’re going to spend a little up front. But what if those value-adds saved you money each month going forward?

Opt for efficiency over aesthetics

Home updates generally fall into two categories: efficiency and aesthetics. And while aesthetics improvements can get the creative juices flowing and pave the way for some fun updates, a few simple, energy-efficient home improvements can go a long way toward saving you money. For example:

• Sealing uncontrolled air leaks can save you 12 to 33 percent a year on your cooling and heating bills.
• Insulating your water heater tank can save you from 7 to 16 percent annually on your water-heating bill.
• Simply planting shade trees can save you 15 to 50 percent on your annual air conditioning costs.
• Installing exterior low-E storm windows may save you 12 to 33 percent annually on your heating and cooling bill.
• An older toilet that uses 6 gallons per flush is wasting water. Replace it with a newer, more efficient model and potentially save up to $100 annually.¹

Save money with smart home automation

Another option is energy-efficient smart automation devices. They’re widely available on the market today and can easily be incorporated into your home remodeling plans.

These discreet gadgets are relatively affordable, easy to install, and can potentially save you money on your monthly utility spend going forward. Take a look:

Smart thermostats keep you comfortable while conserving energy

If you’re like many homeowners, you sacrifice comfort to save money by turning your thermostat down in the winter months and sweating it out during the summer. And let’s face it—it puts a damper on time in your home when you’re forced to bundle up because your house is too cold or you don’t even want to use the kitchen in the summer because your home is too hot.

For comfort and cost savings with any thermostat, you want to keep the temperature at approximately 74 degrees regardless of outdoor changes in temperature. With a typical thermometer, this means you’re continually tampering with the thermostat, manually adjusting it to maintain that median temperature. This consumes excess energy and increases utility spend, which is why a smart thermostat is so, well, smart.

Switching out your traditional thermostat for a smart thermostat is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce your energy consumption and lower your utility spend each month. As part of a comprehensive smart home system, a smart thermostat learns your occupancy patterns and behaviors and automatically adjusts to maintain a comfortable temperature year-round.

You can potentially save up to 12 percent on your utility bill each month using a smart thermostat. And with a smart thermostat, you have the added convenience of controlling it in multiple ways: manually from a primary hub or panel, voice control, or using your mobile device.

Smart lighting is a bright idea

Lighting consumes substantial amounts of energy. Last year, residential lighting alone accounted for 9 percent of total residential electricity consumption. It costs money and consumes valuable resources.

But smart lighting systems make it easier to conserve energy use, which helps the environment, reduces electricity bills, and brings some ease to your life.

Make turning off the lights (and saving energy) easy with smart lighting.

Smart lighting was made for efficiency, comfort, and convenience. With a smart lighting system, you can always ensure your home is lit how you want it when you need it. Leaving the lights on is one the biggest ways in which Americans waste energy. So often we forget to turn off lights when we leave a room or the home.

With smart lighting, you can control your system at home on a central hub, with the sound of your voice, or on your mobile device. That means if you leave home forgetting to turn off the lights, you don’t have to turn around and go back to adjust lighting. You can turn lights off from anywhere using your mobile device. And motion-sensored lights will turn off or on automatically depending on movement in a room. If you forget to turn off the lights as you leave a room, smart lighting systems will do it for you.

Interestingly, the ability to dim lights can help you save big. In fact, you can reduce lighting costs by up to 40 percent and extend the lifetime of lightbulbs by dimming lights 50 percent.² And a smart lighting system can make it easy for you to do that.

You can also create lighting groups that divide your home so that you can control lighting by room, floor or the entire house. You can even customize your smart light system, so lights come on and turn off when you want them to automatically.

The convenience of adjusting lights without lifting a finger is hard to match. Combined with energy savings, lower bills, and a comfortable home, smart lighting feels like an obvious choice.

See how you can get started with smart energy savings

Learn more about how smart lighting and smart thermostats can save you money and energy by giving us a call at 844.481.8630.

Sources

1. "How Much Can You REALLY Save With Energy Efficient Improvements?". 2018. Energy.Gov.
2. "Benefits Of Smart Lighting: What Every Home Or Office Owner Should Know". 2015. Eco-Business.